Research Forest expansion work ongoing on westbound section

Mike Taylor

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, July 9, 2010

THE WOODLANDS - Construction to add another lane in both directions along a portion of Research Forest Drive continues as crews are working along a nearly 1-mile, westbound stretch from just west of Shadowbend Drive to New Trails Drive.

The $3.4 million expansion project, which began June 1, is being done by R. Hassell, of Houston.

Another lane is being added to both the eastbound and westbound sides of Research Forest from Interstate 45 to Shadowbend, which will increase the number of lanes from four to six.

The expansion is being done in phases, with the segment currently under construction covering about 0.9 miles.

“We started the project at approximately New Trails going west, and they’ve poured a considerable amount of concrete on the westbound outside lane,” Salinas said. “As soon as they get that particular section complete, we’ll be opening that up. So, we’ll be opening it up in stages.”

A 12-month timeframe has been allotted to widen one of The Woodlands’ main thoroughfares, although Salinas doesn’t think the project will take that long, weather permitting.

“We always strive to come in under budget and ahead of time,” said Salinas, adding construction crews have “done a lot in 30 days.”

The expansion is being done via an interlocal agreement approved in January between Montgomery County and The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1. The county will reimburse The Woodlands RUD No. 1 with funds accrued through road bonds.

The widening originally was scheduled for 2009 but was pushed back so that miles of fiber-optic cables and traffic signals could be relocated at an approximate cost of $1.2 million.

Salinas said the next phase of construction probably will stretch along Research Forest Drive from the New Trails intersection to the Grogan’s Mill Road intersection, about 0.8 miles.

After that is complete, the remaining westbound segment needing expansion would be from the Grogan’s Mill intersection to the Interstate 45 underpass, about another 0.9 miles of the approximately 2.6-mile project.

Then, work on the eastbound lanes will start at Interstate 45 heading west in stages to Shadowbend.

Salinas said motorists experiencing instances of backed-up traffic because of roadwork are always redirected.

“Anybody that calls, we inform them of expected delays and advise them to take an alternate route if possible,” he said. “Fortunately, they’ve got (Texas) Highway 242 and Lake Woodlands and Woodlands Parkway as alternatives for the east and westbound corridor.”

Pre-construction traffic counts indicated as many as 38,000 cars traveled along Research Forest during a peak 24-hour period, Salinas said.

Traffic generally decreases during construction, but Salinas said the number of vehicles on Research Forest probably would return to the pre-construction count following the completion of the project.

Woodlands Parkway: The current $3.8 million Woodlands Parkway expansion project includes construction of a lane on either side of the parkway from East Panther Creek Drive to Kuykendahl Road, increasing the number of traffic lanes from four to six. Also part of the project is increasing the number of left-turn lanes at selected intersections, as well as the lengthening of some of those lanes.

The project began in July 2009.

In addition to the Research Forest and Woodlands Parkway projects, another expansion project along Lake Woodlands Drive finished in the last couple of years and recent traffic signal installations on Lake Woodlands will result in better traffic flow, Salinas said.

“All three of these (roads) are east and westbound corridors, so when all the improvements are completed, it’s going to be the difference between night and day from before as far as mobility goes,” he said.